Pell to Planet

Chapter 05 · Tools

Work out your number.

Three things I had to build for myself: a way to see the gap, a rhythm for when to do what, and the words for asking an office a question I did not know how to phrase.

Tool one

The gap calculator

Most calculators add up costs and subtract aid. This one also splits your term aid by credits, which is the step that made my own number honest.

1 · What it costs

Check what it already includes before adding anything below.

Only if it is charged on top of the program fee.

Use the term-share helper below if it is billed as part of a full term.

Unless the program buys the ticket for you.

Daily rate times days, minus any meals the fee covers.

Subway, buses, airport transfers.

Only what the program does not provide.

Budget for one thing going wrong.

2 · The term-share helper

If your study abroad course is billed inside a normal term, only part of your term aid is really paying for it. Enter the credits and the calculator does the split.

Leave both the same if the course is your only enrolment.

3 · What covers it

Gilman, campus study abroad awards — money that follows this trip.

Pell, SEOG, institutional awards that pay against the whole term.

Savings and anything you can set aside before the due dates.

Only what is confirmed. Pending applications go in the box below.

Deliberately excluded from the totals. Never plan around money you have not been awarded.

Tool two

The backward planner

Enter the month your program starts and this counts back. These are planning milestones, not official deadlines — every real date belongs to an office, and the last column says which one to ask.

  1. 12 mo before

    Pick the program, confirm it carries credit

    Credit-bearing is a requirement for most scholarships, including Gilman. Confirm it in writing.

    Study abroad office + your academic advisor
  2. 10 mo before

    Match your program dates to a scholarship cycle

    Cycles have eligible program-start windows. The wrong cycle disqualifies a good application.

    The scholarship's own deadlines page
  3. 9 mo before

    File the FAFSA for the right aid year

    Almost everything need-based downstream depends on it being on file.

    studentaid.gov
  4. 8 mo before

    Write and submit scholarship applications

    Essays take longer than you think, and advisors need lead time to certify.

    You, plus a reader you trust
  5. 6 mo before

    Ask about a cost-of-attendance review

    Bring the program budget, tuition estimate and a flight quote. An adjustment changes eligibility, not guarantees.

    Financial aid office
  6. 5 mo before

    Accept, and find out what is due when

    Get the payment schedule in writing. This is the step I most wish I had done earlier.

    Program administrator
  7. 4 mo before

    Start the passport, if you need one

    Check current processing times on the official page and work backwards from them.

    travel.state.gov
  8. 3 mo before

    Book flights, unless the program buys them

    Fares move. If your scholarship pays for travel, check whether any flag-carrier rules apply first.

    You
  9. 2 mo before

    Confirm disbursement dates against payment dates

    Ask when each award actually pays out, then compare it with your due dates.

    Financial aid office
  10. 1 mo before

    Insurance, enrolment, and travel registration

    Scholarships often have their own pre-departure conditions. Missing one can delay your money.

    Program + your scholarship's requirements
  11. Departure

    Depart

Tool three

What to actually say

The hardest part was not the money. It was not knowing that you are allowed to ask, or how. Copy these, fill in the brackets, send them.

Asking financial aid for a study-abroad cost-of-attendance review Your financial aid office 
Subject: Study abroad cost of attendance review — [your name], [student ID]

Hello,

I have been accepted to [program name], a credit-bearing study abroad program running [dates], for [n] credits.

I would like to ask whether my cost of attendance can be reviewed to reflect the actual costs of this program. I can provide:

- the program budget sheet from the program office
- the tuition and fee estimate for the term
- a flight quote for the travel dates
- my acceptance confirmation

Could you tell me:
1. What form or process you need from me for this review?
2. Which of these costs can be recognised?
3. Whether an adjustment would change my grant, scholarship or loan eligibility?
4. What the expected disbursement dates are for the aid I already have this term?

Thank you,
[your name]
Asking your department about scholarships you have not heard of Your academic advisor or department 
Subject: Departmental funding for a study abroad course — [your name]

Hello,

I am planning to take [program name] in [term], which carries [n] credits toward my [major] degree.

Two questions:

1. Are there departmental or college scholarships that can be applied to a study abroad course? I have found the university-wide ones, but I want to be sure I am not missing anything held at the department level.

2. Who is the certifying advisor for study abroad scholarships in our college? I will need a signature for my application by [date].

Happy to send my program details and budget if that helps.

Thank you,
[your name]
The five questions to ask before you pay anything Program office and financial aid 
1. What exactly does the program fee include, and what is billed separately?

2. Is the deposit part of the fee, or on top of it? When is each payment due?

3. Is the course tuition billed as part of a normal term? If so, how many credits, and what will the term cost in total?

4. Which of my awards apply to this program, and which apply to the whole term?

5. On what date does each award actually disburse, compared with each payment due date?

Before you use any of this

Numbers change. Ask anyway.

Award amounts, deadlines and rules all move year to year. Nothing on this site is a substitute for the office that holds the money. Use the tools to walk in with a question already written down — that is the whole point.

Next

Where the money comes from

Federal aid, campus awards, and the national scholarships worth your time, with what each one requires.

The funding directory